Artist Shiori Asahina turns Vocaloid hit song “ACUTE” by music producer KurousaP (WhiteFlame) into a one-shot manga about what happens when love complicates a friendship.

Miku, Luka and Kaito have been friends for years. The two girls’ homes were next to each other while Kaito met them joined them in elementary school. While they eventually went separate ways since each of them were in different grades, their bond seemed strong enough to handle the time apart. It was around Valentine’s day when then middle schoolers Miku and Luka talked about making chocolates for Kaito who just started high school. Miku said she wanted to confess to their best friend but that’s when they realized they both liked the boy. They promised to keep their crush a secret in order to preserve the friendship. As time moved forward, the three slowly drifted away from each other. Valentine’s day once again drew close and things shattered for the trio. Miku headed to Kaito’s apartment to celebrate his birthday but when she arrived, she saw him give Luka a kiss before she left his place. It was proof that her best friend didn’t hold her end of the promise and Miku took matters into her hands.

This manga gives the iconic song a large amount of backstory the original 2009 music video hints to. It shows the formation of the friendship which gives a lot more weight to the ending scene of the MV and book. While Asahina did not make the video, the soft art style is very similar to Ichiyou Moka’s original illustrations. When the story takes its dark turn however, so do the pages as they lose their stable formation like Miku. While Dark Horse rates “Acute” for those 14-years old and above, readers discretion is advised since there are scenes of suicide and and violence, including self-harm.

Soon after KurousaP uploaded “Acute,” he released the second half of the song series “ReACT.” It focused on Miku after what happened between her two friends and what will when she meets another couple. According to the Vocaloid Wiki, “ReACT” also became a manga, but it was unknown if a publisher picked up the project.

For more information for the manga adaptation of “Acute,” visit Dark Horse’s page.